


I'm Nova. Nova Artino.

by novaartinoisaqueen



Series: ask fics [6]
Category: Renegades - Marissa Meyer
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:48:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23283496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/novaartinoisaqueen/pseuds/novaartinoisaqueen
Summary: anon asked: Could you write part of the au where the Renegades find Nova with the Anarchists before she becomes Nightmare? Like maybe they raid the tunnels too fast for the Anarchists to hide Nova? And the renegade team is like “why is there a child here” and take her to the Council who is super confused because why was a literal 8 year old with villains
Relationships: Hugh Everhart | Captain Chromium/Simon Westwood | The Dread Warden, Nova Artino | Nightmare/Adrian Everhart | Sketch
Series: ask fics [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1654693
Comments: 12
Kudos: 93





	1. Subway Tunnels

**Author's Note:**

> moving most of my fics to ao3 from tumblr (nova-artino-is-a-queen). Enjoy!

It was supposed to have been another normal inspection. 

In the three years following the downfall of Ace Anarchy and his reign of terror, Simon had never had much trouble with the remaining Anarchists. They always cooperated when the Renegades showed up for an unannounced inspection, doing as they were told and being quiet. Perhaps it was because they were still getting over the loss of their leader. 

If anything, these events began to grow boring for Simon. He would have to talk to the rest of the Council about making this something other Renegades could handle so that they could focus on more important matters. 

He and a few others were just finishing up and about to head out of the subway tunnels when they heard a crash a ways down. Simon swivelled back around, taking note of the stiffened postures of the Detonator, Cyanide, and Queen Bee. Not waiting around for their excuses, Simon pushed past them toward the source of the noise. He supposed it could’ve been a rat, but a rat wouldn’t have made so much racket. 

The others followed him, and they came upon a train car by itself a ways away from the others. The door was ajar, and Simon heard the quietest of sobbing, almost as if the person crying was trying to not be loud. His hand went to the gun at his hip, a safety precaution more than anything. All the Anarchists had been accounted for, or at least, Simon thought they had. He gestured for the others to follow him as he slowly pushed the door open and peered inside. 

He did not expect to find a child.

* * *

She wouldn’t eat or drink. Nor would she sleep, according to the nurses in the med wing. All she did was sit criss-crossed on her bed and face the wall in her room. No one had been able to get anything out of her. Not a name, age, why the Anarchists were fostering her. Despite nothing being known about her, the media and half of Gatlon were eager to catch a glimpse of her. They too were intrigued about a child being found among the Anarchist ranks.

When Simon had found her in the subway tunnels the other day, his first thought was to bring her to the Renegades where she could get proper treatment. A child had no business being affiliated with the Anarchists. He hadn’t been expecting her to fight back when he tried to pick her up and take her away, though. She was so tiny, clearly not being given the nutrients a growing child needed. Simon has thought that the Anarchists took her for their own gain, but it appeared that she developed a connection to them. It was another question that remained unmoving in his mind. 

The Anarchists protested at her removal, but did nothing when Simon and the other Renegades left with the little girl kicking and screaming for them to save her. He supposed it was part of their twisted ideology of saving themselves rather than others. It almost broke his heart to tear her from them, but he knew better. He had to remind himself of just the kind of people the Anarchists were. 

Now he stood outside of her hospital room, watching her tinker with something in her hands. A variety of breakfast foods sat on a tray untouched on the table over her bed. It was nearing the afternoon. One of the nurses had tried to run a brush through her hair, as it sat a frizzy mess of curls and waves. Well, her letting someone touch her was a small sign of improvement, at least. 

Simon knocked lightly on the open door before stepping in. “Hey, kiddo. How’s the foot?”

The girl scowled at him and placed whatever she had been messing with on the side table. She pulled the foot in question closer to her body, wincing as she did so. Before Simon had found her, she had pushed a mug off of her desk and the ceramic shards cut her foot. That had caused the crash Simon heard. It was now wrapped carefully in gauze, still healing. 

“What are you working on?” Simon glanced at the object she had been tinkering with; it looked like a pen. She liked to keep her hands busy. He could at least tell that. 

Still, she didn’t answer. 

Simon let out a sigh and refrained from running a hand through his hair. Instead, he shot Hugh a message on his band. He sat in silence for a few minutes with the girl as he waited. Finally, there was a soft, hesitant knock at the door. His son, Adrian, stood at the threshold to the room, looking around with wide, nervous eyes. Simon smiled at him warmly and beckoned him forward. 

The girl eyed Adrian with suspicion, but no hatred as she did with Simon. 

“This is my son, Adrian. He wanted to meet you, if that’s alright.” 

Adrian pushed up the bridge of his glasses and wiped his palms on his pants. “Hi.” He smiled warily at her. “I’m Adrian. What’s your name?” 

She didn’t answer immediately, sizing Adrian up instead. Finally, almost shy, she scooted over on the bed, a silent invitation for him to join her. Simon’s lips curled up; he knew it would work. 

“I’m Nova.” Her voice cracked as she spoke, but it was steady, sure. “Nova Artino.”

Simon’s smile vanished. 

Oh. Oh no.


	2. Settling In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Simon and Hugh discuss what they're going to do with Ace Anarchy's niece while Nova adjusts to her new life (against her will).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me on tumblr nova-artino-is-a-queen and say hi!

Simon watched the children play in the backyard from the kitchen window. At the stove, Hugh was making dinner. The kids were taking turns pushing one another on the swing set, Adrian letting Nova have longer turns before she insisted on switching. The sentiment brought a smile to Simon’s face. 

It had been a couple weeks since Simon found the girl, only eight years old, in the hands of the Anarchists. After spending a few days in the hospital wing at headquarters, Simon and his husband decided it was best to take her home with them. That way, she would be safe from the hungry eyes of the media. It was frustrating getting her to bed every night, as she refused to set a foot in the guest room until she was alone, but Hugh and Simon were afraid of her running away and wanted to keep an eye on her. At least Adrian loved the idea, having already grown fond of the girl in the short time they had known one another. Their friendship was ironic, in a sad way, but Simon didn’t like to think about it. Georgia had died two years ago, yet her death was still a knife to the side. 

“What are we going to do about her?” Simon turned from the window to Hugh, who was pushing around sausage in a pan. 

“Hm?” Hugh shifted his body so he faced Simon a bit more.

“What are we going to do about Nova?” He pushed his glasses up and crossed his arms. 

The look Simon got was almost comical. “Aren’t we going to keep her? She has nowhere else to go.”

Simon released a soft sigh. “You know we can’t do that, Hugh. Taking on Adrian was one thing. We’re his godparents and we’re financially stable to handle one prodigy child. But two?” He shook his head. 

Hugh turned the stove off. “She’s a prodigy? How did you find that out?”

There was a screech from outside, and they both peered out to see Nova stand up from the bottom of the slide, covered in mud and a grin on her face. Adrian stood at the top, laughing. 

“Why else would the Anarchists be hiding her?” Simon lowered his voice, although they were the only two in the house. “Ace killed her family because David came to us. Why didn’t he kill her, too?” 

Hugh removed his apron and began getting out bowls and silverware. “You’re right. I hadn’t thought about that. But, Love,” he paused, closing the cabinets, “where is she going to go? I mean, don’t you feel as responsible for her as with Adrian?” 

A pang hit Simon’s chest. Hugh had a point; they had failed to protect the Artinos the same night Georgia died. It was only right for them to make sure she stayed safe. They owed that much to David and his wife. 

“I know.” Simon looked down at the checkered tile. “But will she trust us? Wouldn’t she be better off with a non-Renegade family? You’ve seen the looks she gives us. How she refuses to sleep at night if we’re in the room with her. There’s no telling what kind of bullshit the Anarchists have been feeding her. What’s to say she won’t run away or try to murder us in our sleep in the future?”

Hugh narrowed his eyes at him. “Your paranoia is showing again.” He walked forward and kissed Simon lightly. Simon closed his eyes, welcoming his husband’s hold. “We’ll figure it out,” Hugh said once he pulled away. “In the meantime,” he turned toward the cracked open window, “Kids, dinner!”

“I was afraid you were going to say that,” Simon murmured under his breath as the children entered the kitchen, sweaty and caked in mud from head to toe. 

* * *

Nova waited for Adrian in his bedroom, spending her time looking at his collection of comic books on his bookshelves. She missed her home a lot, but at least Adrian was nice. He understood what it was like to be uprooted, at least that’s what Nova could figure out based on their conversations. Still, what would Uncle Ace think about her being with the enemy? They let her family die instead of coming to save them. Surely, Ace was coming up with a rescue plan. At eight years old, there wasn’t much she could do to fight back anyway . Leroy refused for Ingrid to start training her until she was at least ten, so she had useless skills. There was her power, but she was still working on making it stronger. And down in the subway tunnels, it wasn’t like she could practice on the other Anarchists. Before she was kidnapped, Nova had plans to be just like her uncle, to be a powerful prodigy that defends all prodigies from discrimination and annihilates any offenders of equality. 

Her hands fell upon a comic different from the others. This one was just on plain printer paper and appeared to be homemade. She flipped through it, admiring the designs. They were a bit amateur, but good nonetheless. It was incomplete, clear from the half drawn characters on one of the pages. 

The door creaked and she whipped around, only to be met with a slightly startled Adrian. He had fresh pajamas on and held a towel in his hands. 

“Did you make this?” Nova held the comic up, unfazed. “It’s really good. I didn’t know you were an artist.”

Adrian pushed the towel into a basket and came forward, gently snatching the comic out of her hands. Nova noticed how his cheeks lit up. “It’s just something I’ve been working on,” he explained, shrugging and putting it back on the shelf. “Just a story.”

“Can I read it?” 

“No!” Adrian’s eyes widened. “I mean, it’s not done yet, is all. I wouldn’t want you seeing something unfinished.” 

She shot him a weird look and opened her mouth to respond, but Hugh poked his head in.

“Bed time, kids.” He stepped in all the way and started ushering Adrian to his bed. Nova watched as the man sat on the edge of his son’s bed and waited for him to get situated before tucking him in. She averted her eyes when Hugh bent over to plant a kiss on Adrian’s head, while Adrian protested and swatted him away. She quitted the room quietly and made her way down the hall to where they made her sleep, even though she never slept anymore. Not since she was six. Images of Mom and Papà flitted through her head, and she longed to be back in their arms in the safety of their apartment. It hadn’t been much, but it was home. Sometimes, especially recently, Nova thought about running away to the apartment and holing herself inside, but she knew the place would bring back too many bad memories. 

The bedroom was dark and cold when she entered. The upstairs of the house gave her the creeps. Adrian was convinced it was haunted, and said so the first night she came home with them. She had laughed at him then, but night after night of wandering around the room and hallways led to her slowly believing him. It wouldn’t surprise her; Ace was responsible for the murders of the mayor and his family. Any ghosts surely didn’t want Nova there. Well, it wouldn’t be the first time she wasn’t wanted. 

There was a soft knock on the door, and it opened a bit after Nova refused to respond, She didn’t even acknowledge Hugh as she started pulling back the covers, already in the set of pajamas they gave her. 

Nova enjoyed Adrian’s company. She had never had friends her age, or friends at all really, if she didn’t count her family. The Anarchists...weren’t exactly friends either. She knew that they only watched her because Ace ordered them to. Adrian was like her, though. He was nine, but she had a birthday coming up in less than eight months so they were practically the same age. She knew she should hate him for his parents and affiliations, but it wasn’t his fault. That was all he knew. She could tell he was a good person, not like his Renegade parents. Being around them was different than being with Adrian. 

“How are you liking the Everhart-Westwood residence, Nova?” His voice was cheerful. Nova didn’t care. 

She shrugged, playing with the covers. 

Hugh sighed. “Listen, Nova, there are things that you should know about your family, okay?” She glanced at him. He sat on the edge of the bed like he did with Adrian and reached over to pat her shin. “But...I’m afraid you’re going to have to be a little older to fully understand. Just know that...that your father would want you here instead of in the subway tunnels, okay? He was a good man and a good friend, unlike his brother who was narcissistic and hotheaded.” Nova deflated, and had to bite back arguing over what he believed was best for her. He was just saying these things to get her to open up and to turn against the Anarchists and her uncle. He didn’t care about her. If he did, her family would still be alive. 

But still…”You knew Papà?”

Hugh smiled, though it was sad. “Yes. And there hasn’t been a day that has passed that I haven’t felt guilt for failing him. For failing you. But that’s a story for another day.” He paused and stood then, shaking his head. “Do you want to be tucked in? Adrian won’t admit it, but I’ve gotten pretty good at it since we adopted him.”

Nova shook her head, wanting to ask more questions but knowing they would lead to nowhere. 

Hugh left and closed the door behind him softly, leaving her to a dark room and racing thoughts. 

  
  



End file.
